


SuperSides

by PaigePenn



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), The Borrowers - All Media Types, gt - Fandom
Genre: Borrowers AU, Gen, Human Roman, I'm so sorry Logan I didn't mean to the angst just happened, In which I am very mean to Logan, Let's blame Roman, Logan Virgil and Patton are brothers in this AU, Superpowers AU, borrower Logan, borrower Patton, borrower Virgil, superhero au, there will eventually be a happy ending but right now Logan is traumatized and nobody is happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-05-15 02:39:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19286413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaigePenn/pseuds/PaigePenn
Summary: Set in a world where powers are not uncommon, and borrowers definitely exist (and have powers just as often as humans do).Originally wasn’t going to be a Sanders Sides story, but I needed more characters and they elbowed their way in. (Okay, Roman elbowed his way in and dragged the others along with him.)You can also read this story onDeviantArtandtumblr.





	1. Prologue / Jamie Finds Evidence

Jamie sometimes told people that eir power was the ability to see auras. It wasn't a lie, strictly speaking, but it wasn't entirely accurate either. Jamie wasn't quite sure what it was ey saw, or if there was even a name for them, but ey were pretty sure that actual auras didn't rub off on everything the person touched.

Sometimes Jaimie said that eir power was tracking. This wasn't accurate either. That was just what ey most frequently used it for. Following someone for miles two days after they'd passed by was easy if their footsteps remained, glowing blue or scarlet or golden. It was slightly less easy if there had been heavy foot traffic, other footprints mingling with the ones ey sought, but Jamie had yet to meet two people with the exact same shade, and ey could usually pick out the prints ey wanted.

("Not even twins?" ey'd been asked on multiple occasions. "Not even _identical_ twins?"

"No," ey'd answered each time, and sometimes added, "twins are rarely even in the same color group.")

Ey did _not_ tell people, not most people anyway, that disguises didn't work on em. Putting on a mask didn't do much when everyone had a distinct color. But secret identities were kind of really important, and Jamie had gotten good at pretending not to know that, for example, Clara (the barista down the street, and very good at her job) was also Shrinking Violet, the sizeshifting vigilante, on her days off. Ey did find this particular alias a bit amusing, since Clara was not violet, but the goldest goldenrod ey'd ever seen, but it was hardly eir place to say so.

Jamie also didn't tell anyone that there were borrowers living in eir house. Jamie had known the first time ey came over to look at the place, of course. There were tiny hand- and foot-prints everywhere. Dark blue ones (a pretty cerulean), purple ones (a dark violet), and light blue ones (periwinkle, like the color of wispy clouds in springtime). Three borrowers, plus any that stayed in the walls all the time. The cerulean ones were most frequent, and Jamie figured they must belong to the main provider for the family. (It almost certainly had to be a family of some sort, or a close knit group of friends, because the footprints almost always went in pairs or trios, and Cerulean —since ey didn't know their names, Jamie referred to them in eir head by their colors— was the only one who ventured out of the walls alone.)

Jamie didn't mind the borrowers in the least. This wasn't the first time ey'd lived with borrowers before, and ey rather liked knowing that someone was there even when the house seemed empty. (Jamie had briefly considered living in a haunted house, but being able to see ghosts was a different thing than being able to hear them, and from what ey'd heard, ghosts tended to be chatty. Best to leave the haunted houses to regular mediums.)

Aside from Jamie and the borrowers, the house had one other occupant: a young man about Jamie's age, named Roman. Jamie and Roman didn't know each other very well, but they had agreed to split the rent and generally stay out of each other's way, and they got on alright. Sometimes they would have a meal together, or watch a movie, but they didn't interact much otherwise. It wasn't unfriendly, and in fact their occasional interactions were usually pleasant, but they were more 'acquaintances' than 'friends.'

One day, Jamie came home to find some disturbing marks in the kitchen. At first glance, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Roman's footsteps (a very boisterous red that suited his personality to a T) came through the door, went to the counter on which a plate of cookies sat, and then went out again and upstairs. However, when Jamie looked at the counter at which Roman had stood, ey saw two sets of minuscule footprints. Dark blue and purple. Jamie traced their path with eir eyes.

The borrowers had entered by way of the gap between the oven and the wall, which was their usual entrance to the kitchen. They'd climbed over the top of the oven, hopped down onto the backboard, and from there onto the counter. There were a few handprints for steadying, mostly on the back of the stove, but not many, going this way. It did look like Cerulean had given Violet a hand down, though. There was a pair of dark blue footprints facing back toward the stove.

From there, the borrowers had gone straight to the plate of cookies Jamie had baked yesterday, and which ey'd offered freely to Roman. None of the cookies had marks on them, besides a smudge of red where Roman had accidentally brushed his fingers against one cookie while picking up another, and a few bits of green (dark, mossy) around their edges from Jamie arranging them on the plate, but a trail of purple footprints lead from the edge of the plate to near the pile of cookies, and then back again to where Cerulean had waited, so Jamie knew the borrowers must have taken one.

Ey would have been pleased with this except that about halfway back to their entrance/exit, the footprints changed. The borrowers had stood still, Cerulean a cookie's length in front of Violet, and then the tracks were further apart, indicating running. Violet had a longer stride than Cerulean. And while Violet's tracks made it all the way back to their entrance (with what looked like a panicked scramble up the baseboard and over the top of the stove), Cerulean's just stopped mid-pace over six inches away. There was a red mark just in front of where Cerulean's footprints stopped, as well as a few red fingerprints, each outsizing the borrowers' footprints, off to the side.

All of this takes quite a while to read and even longer to say, but Jamie took it all in in a matter of seconds. Ey winced. Then, with a sigh, Jamie went upstairs to go have a talk with eir housemate.


	2. Roman Catches a Borrower

Roman got home from rehearsal, tired and wanting to go to bed. He detoured through the kitchen first, though, remembering the plate of cookies his roommate had said to help himself to. But when he got to the kitchen, Roman stopped short at what he saw. Two tiny figures, carrying a cookie between them, stood on the counter. They stared back at him for a second. Then the one in the front hissed something at the other, which Roman couldn't quite make out, and they pitched the cookie to the side and started running.

Roman darted forward a second later. The borrower in back quickly outstripped the other, and was nearly at the wall when Roman reached the counter. An instant later, he'd scrambled over the back of the stove and vanished. Roman grabbed at the other borrower, and was surprised that he actually managed to snag him. Roman pulled away from the counter, opening his hands just a little so he could peek inside. He half expected to find something else trapped in his fist, but there he was. A tiny man lay on Roman's palm, looking back up at Roman with wide eyes.

"A borrower," Roman whispered in wonder, and the little man flinched. Roman glanced back at the cookie on the counter. "And you were borrowing a cookie," he said, picking it up.

The borrower's eyes flicked back and forth between Roman's face and his currently cookie-occupied hand. Then he surged upward, scrambling over Roman's thumb. With a yelp, Roman dropped the cookie and snatched at him, barely managing to catch the borrower by his leg before he could land on the counter. For a moment he was frozen as the borrower squirmed in his grip, flailing around upside-down but oddly silent. Then Roman got him back into his hands, curling his fingers more firmly around him. The borrower scrabbled at Roman's fingers, but Roman closed his fist firmly around the little guy's torso and gave him a stern, "no escaping" look.

The borrower fell still, though Roman could feel a rapid, frightened heartbeat against his fingers. He could not, he noticed, feel the borrower breathing. Roman loosened his grip a bit. Picking the cookie up again, he glanced back at the stove. The other borrower was probably long gone by now. Roman left the kitchen with his captive, heading for his room.

Roman closed his bedroom door behind him and sat down on his bed. He lifted the borrower up to his face, and the tiny man started to squirm again, looking terrified. Roman felt a little bit bad for basically kidnapping him. "I won't hurt you," he tried to assure him, but the glare the borrower gave him made it clear he thought it was an empty promise, or at least worthless coming from someone who was actively holding him captive. Roman sighed.

"I'll let you go," he said. "Just… not yet."

He got a similar look for that promise, and Roman looked away, feeling guiltier. The borrower started to squirm in his grasp again. Roman didn't really blame him. He was trapped in a fist from the chest down, and even his strongest efforts weren't enough to budge Roman's fingers. Roman loosened his grip a bit, giving him some more room. Obviously it wasn't enough, because the borrower continued to scrabble in Roman's fist, trying to get out.

"I'll… I can hold you in an open hand instead," Roman offered. The borrower paused in his struggles for a moment to look up at him calculatingly. Then he nodded. "Only," Roman added, "I don't… you have to promise not to jump off again." The tiny man responded with a scowl, and Roman rushed on. "I'm sorry, I know, you don't want to stay. But I promise, I _will_ let you go. Today, even. Just, please, don't run off on me yet?"

The borrower grimaced, and Roman realized suddenly that his grip had tightened again while he anxiously explained himself. Quickly, he loosened it again. The borrower, looking pained, pushed at Roman's fingers to get him to loosen his fist even further.

"Please?" Roman begged.

The borrower glared at him. Then, grimacing still, he nodded. Roman loosened his grip and set the borrower on his other hand, which he held open.

"Better?" he asked hopefully.

The borrower slowly nodded. Then he winced, putting a hand on his side.

Concerned, Roman lifted the borrower closer to his face, earning himself a flinch and a flail as the little guy fell over in his hand to get away. "Sorry," Roman said, not sure which thing he was apologizing for. Maybe all of them. "I… I didn't mean to…" He swallowed, hard. "I hurt you. Didn't I?"

The borrower didn't answer, just curling in on himself in Roman's hand. Roman felt even guiltier. He'd promised not to hurt the little guy, but he'd already done it by accident.

"How… how bad is it?" he dared to ask. The borrower groaned, the first sound Roman had heard out of him since before he'd even touched him. "Let me see," Roman requested, but the borrower just curled into a tighter ball.

Roman used a finger from his free hand to roll the borrower onto his back. The borrower flailed again, and his eyes, which had been shut a second before, flew open. He lay in Roman's hand, staring up at him with something like terror.

"Let me see," Roman said again, hoping that he sounded both kind and firm. He didn't know how well he did, but the borrower slowly obeyed, uncurling to expose his stomach and chest.

Roman moved to lift the tiny shirt, and the borrower flinched, looking away. Roman froze, fingers still inches away from the tiny form. "I need you to lift your shirt," he said instead.

This wasn't much better in terms of how frightened the borrower looked, but at least the tiny man obeyed, gripping the hem of his shirt with trembling hands and pulling it up to reveal a thin torso with finger shaped bruises already forming.

Roman hissed sympathetically through his teeth. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. Then he frowned, noticing something. The borrower, shaking from head to toe, wasn't breathing.

"Hey. Breathe," Roman said. The borrower flinched at his voice, and then took in a shaky breath. He immediately cried out in pain, and Roman winced. "I'm sorry, I'm sure breathing hurts, but you gotta keep doing it."

The borrower looked up at him with tears in his eyes, but he kept breathing, if shakily and shallowly.

Roman got back up, and the borrower in his hand shook. "You can put your shirt back, for now," Roman said, trying to sound as gentle as he could. The tiny man pulled it down. Roman felt really bad about injuring him, but he was going to do his best to make it right.

Carrying the trembling borrower, Roman left his room and, with a glance to make sure Jamie wasn't around to see them (even though he was sure ey wasn't even in the house), ducked into the bathroom right across the hall and shut the door behind him. He set the little man down on the counter, where he glanced around. "Please don't run," Roman said, and the borrower stiffened again. Slowly, keeping his frightened gaze on Roman, the little man sat down on the counter as if to say, "Look, I'm not running. Not even thinking about running."

He obviously was worried about what Roman would do to him if he disobeyed. Roman's guilty feelings increased. He rummaged through the medicine cabinet instead of looking at the borrower anymore. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. But as Roman unscrewed the lid from the little silver tube, he hesitated. "I'm… going to have to ask you to take your shirt off," he said at last. The borrower gave him a pleading glance, but moved to do as Roman said. Soon, he was shivering in the open air. _And not breathing, again,_ Roman noted with a frown.

"I know it hurts to breathe," he said gently, squeezing a dollop of clear goo out of the tube onto his finger. "And I'm sorry I have to ask you to do something that hurts. But you gotta keep breathing, buddy."

The borrower's shaking increased, but he started breathing again. Roman lowered his finger in front of him.

"Here," he said. "It's arnica gel." The borrower looked at it in confusion, and Roman added, "It'll help your bruises heal faster. Take some."

Shakily, the borrower scooped up a handful of the gel. It wasn't even a third of the dollop, and Roman realized that he might have squeezed out too much. Looking up at Roman, the borrower lifted the gel to his mouth.

"No!" They were both startled with the sharpness of Roman's exclamation. The borrower flinched, and then curled into a fetal position, protecting his head and neck with his arms like he expected Roman to crush him with a blow. Roman let out a tense breath. "You don't eat it," he said, more gently. "It's poisonous. You rub it on the bruises."

Slowly, the borrower uncurled. The gel he'd taken had gotten lost somewhere when he flinched, and Roman wordlessly offered him some more. The borrower took another handful, and tentatively spread it on one of the fresh bruises covering his chest. He winced, and Roman apologized again,

"I'm sorry, it's cold, I know. But it _will_ help."

He leaned over and glanced at the borrower's back. It wasn't as bruised as his front, but Roman still worried that the little guy wasn't going to be able to reach the bruises that were there.

"Look… I know I'm the last person you want help from right now," he said, and the borrower looked up at him for a moment before going back to spreading arnica gel over his bruises. Roman continued, "But I'm not sure you'll be able to reach the bruises on your back. So I'll put the gel on them." The borrower visibly stiffened. It was painfully obvious how little he wanted Roman to touch him. Roman felt like the guilt would swallow him whole. He tried to assuage it with the fact that he was trying to make things better, but that didn't work very well.

The borrower didn't tell him no, but by this point Roman was pretty sure that he'd accidentally crushed any thoughts of rebellion out of the little guy.

"I'll be gentle." The promise felt bitter in his mouth. Hadn't Roman also promised not to hurt the borrower at all, just before almost squeezing the life out of him? Roman bit his lip, deciding to just do it. He leaned over the frightened borrower again and touched the gel on his finger to the bruises forming on his back. The borrower flinched at the first touch, but continued to rub the gel on his chest while Roman rubbed it into his back. He was holding his breath again, Roman noticed, but he didn't scold him this time. For one thing, he was holding his own breath to better concentrate on his task. As carefully and delicately as he could, Roman massaged the clear gel into each of the borrower's bruises.

Finally, he finished. Roman pulled away, letting out the breath he'd been holding. "I'm done," he promised, crouching in front of the counter. "How are you coming along?"

The borrower looked up for a moment, and then gestured to his bruises. Most of them had a thin coating, and he was finishing up on the last one.

Roman hesitated, wondering how to break it to him. "You have to rub it in," he said at last. "So your skin will absorb it."

The borrower glanced up again. Then he sighed and nodded, going back over the bruises and rubbing the gel in. Finally, he was done.

Roman was going to ask if he felt any better, but he had a feeling that the borrower would answer in the affirmative, whether or not it was true, in an attempt to appease him. So instead Roman just said, "Good job. You can put your shirt back on now."

Shivering, the borrower did so. Roman offered him a smile, but it felt fake, even to him. He looked away, putting the arnica back in the cabinet. Regretting the terrible first impression he'd made, Roman put his hand on the counter next to the borrower. "I won't even grab you this time," he said.

Getting onto Roman's hand seemed to be the thing the borrower wanted to do least in the world, but he forced himself to do it anyway. He sat in the middle of Roman's palm, stiff and shaking. Roman eyed him, and saw that the steady rise and fall that his chest _should_ be doing was once again paused.

"Breathe," he reminded him. The borrower, cringing, obeyed, taking a deep breath that Roman could tell hurt him. "It can be little breaths," Roman said. "I just don't want you to pass out on me."

The borrower relaxed a little, but not much. Roman carried him back to his bedroom and sat down on his bed again. Where had he put that cookie? It might make a good peace offering. Ah! There it was, on Roman's pillow.

Roman lowered his hand to the blanket. "You can get off," he said, feeling his gut twist with the realization that without express permission, the borrower would probably remain in Roman's hand for fear that Roman wanted him to stay and would punish him for moving. He would have added, "but you don't have to if you'd rather not," but he was absolutely sure that the borrower didn't want to stay in his grip a second longer than he had to.

The borrower quickly scrambled off Roman's hand and sat down on the blanket instead, a few paces off (but still within easy arm's reach).

Roman picked the cookie up, breaking it in half. He set one half in front of the borrower. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to," he assured the little guy. "But you may."

The borrower answered by breaking off a crumb and nibbling on it. Roman grinned in relief, taking a bite out of his half. For a moment, they sat in silence, just eating cookie together.

"My name's Roman," Roman blurted suddenly. Too suddenly, he realized, seeing the borrower flinch. He'd startled him. In a softer voice, Roman asked, "What's your name?"

The borrower relaxed, just a little. He said something, but it was too quiet for Roman to make out.

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that," Roman said, leaning closer. "Could you say it again?"

"Logan!" the borrower said, louder. Roman pulled away.

"Nice to meet you, Logan," he said, before realizing that that social script _really_ didn't fit the situation. "Er. I mean." He sighed. "I know it wasn't nice to meet me. I'm sorry."

The borrower didn't answer.

Roman sighed again. "Look, Logan," he started, but he was interrupted by a knock on his door. He jolted, looking over at it. "That's my housemate," he said. He didn't want to expose Logan to more humans just yet, not after the bad experience _he'd_ just given the poor guy. "I'll… I'll be right back," Roman said, getting up. "Um. Sorry. Again."

Roman grabbed his pillow, moving it to block the view of the borrower from the door. Jamie knocked again, and Roman went to answer the door.


	3. Angst Redux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 again, except from Logan's perspective this time.

It was just supposed to be a regular borrowing trip. One of the humans, Roman, was at something called "rehearsal," which meant something about being a different person for a while, but mostly meant that he'd be out of the house for several hours. The other human, Jamie, was also out, nobody was quite sure where, but ey had a habit of talking to eirself out loud and mentioned when ey left that ey wouldn't be back til late.

Which meant that it should have been optimal borrowing conditions. Patton stayed home, and Logan and Virgil went out. The first several parts of their trip went just fine. They'd found just about everything they'd gone out for. Then Virgil had suggested they borrow one of the cookies Jamie had baked yesterday. Patton loved cookies, and Jamie had told Roman to help himself to as many as he wanted, which meant that if the borrowers took one, each of the humans would assume the other ate it, if they even noticed its absence. Best of all, the cookies had been left on a plate in the kitchen, uncovered. It was perfect.

The two borrowers went through their passageways in the walls until they came to the opening behind the oven. Slipping through, they began the ascent. All three borrowers had been somewhat concerned in the past about the potential dangers of leaving climbing ropes attached, but humans were extremely unlikely to move the large appliance, and there was no denying that being able to climb up without having to take the time to attach a rope was invaluable. Add to that the fact that instead of a rope they'd secured a long light-pull chain, which would last longer before wearing out and also provided better hand- and foot- holds for climbing, while still being able to be slid down in a hurry, and this was easily one of the best customizations they had made to the building.

Logan peeked out above the back of the stovetop first. Even though they were sure that the house was empty, he scanned the room for humans and listened intently. When he was sure it was clear, he climbed up on top. As Virgil climbed up beside him, Logan climbed down to the backboard that ran along the wall behind the counters. If not for this board, they would have needed a rope or a boost to get up again, but the board provided a convenient middle step. Logan dropped carefully down to the counter. Virgil echoed his movements to get onto the backboard, but for the last step (the further drop), Logan offered his younger brother a hand to get down, and Virgil gratefully accepted the assistance.

There was their prize. Just on the other end of the counter, next to the fridge, sat the plate of cookies. The two borrowers trekked over. Though Virgil could easily have made it to the plate in half the time, he stuck with Logan the entire way over. Then, when they got there, he hopped up onto the plate, grabbed a cookie that was half as wide across as he was tall, and dragged it back to Logan.

One of them could have carried it alone, with effort, but they had decided to share the burden. That was why there were two of them, after all. Two borrowers together could easily carry more than two borrowers alone. Logan picked up the other end of the cookie. Hoisting their prize up, the borrowers headed back toward their entrance. Logan was in the front, because they both knew that, if worst came to worst and they had to escape a human, Logan would need more of a head start than Virgil. Not that they were sure that Logan could actually beat a human to the stove, while Virgil had a fair chance of it, but any head start could make the difference between safety and capture.

When they were halfway back, the worst thing that could have happened did happen. Roman entered the room, turning the light on. There was no doubt. He saw them. "Virgil!" Logan hissed. "Run!" He took his own advice, dropping the cookie and darting off for the exit as fast as he could. Behind him, he heard the cookie drop onto the counter, and a second later, Virgil passed him, pelting as hard as he could for the exit. To the side, there were thunderous footsteps as the human rushed toward them. Logan had hardly crossed half the remaining distance when Virgil got to the wall and the human got to the counter. A huge hand swept toward him, and the last thing Logan saw before fingers filled his vision and he was swept off his feet was Virgil scrambling up the baseboard and dropping behind the stove. _At least he's safe_ , Logan thought, but it was small comfort. He was _caught_. In a human's hand. He wasn't sure if the nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach was from terror or being moved around so quickly.

The fingers opened, and Logan found himself on his back, looking up at the last thing he'd wanted to see, ever: a human, looking right back at him. "A borrower," the human said, and Logan flinched. The human even knew what he _was_. The human looked away from him for a moment, and Logan realized that he'd stopped breathing. Before he could decide to start again, though, the human added, "And you were borrowing a cookie."

If Logan had been breathing, his breath would have caught in his throat. The human didn't sound upset, yet. But he couldn't risk waiting for that to happen. The human had picked up the cookie, and Logan glanced up at him, trying to gauge how much of his attention it had captured. It would have to be enough. Logan burst up out of the human's hand, scrambling over his thumb. There was a yell, and the surface under him moved. Logan slipped, and instead of falling feet-first as he had planned, he found himself hurtling headfirst toward the unforgivingly hard counter. Just before he was sure he was going to crack his head open on the stone, his fall stopped. He dangled by one leg. Logan flailed in surprise, confused. Then he saw what had stopped his fall, and confusion shifted to terror. The human had his leg pinched between two fingers. And he didn't look pleased.

The human hauled Logan up, and before he even had a chance to squirm, he was surrounded by huge fingers again. They closed tightly around him, and Logan thanked his luck that he didn't need to breathe, because the fingers pressed hard enough on his chest that he wouldn't have been able to draw a breath if his life depended on it.

The human scowled down at him, and Logan fell still, terror running down his spine and his heart threatening to beat out of his chest. Then the human's grasp on him loosened, just slightly. Logan's chest ached.

Without a word, the human left the kitchen. Going who knows where, to do who knows what to him. Logan's only comfort was the knowledge that Virgil had escaped his fate. He doubted he'd ever see either of his brothers again, but at least they were safe. For now, at least. They'd have to lay low, and probably move.

He hoped Patton wouldn't take it too hard when Virgil told him he was dead. And, Logan added, he hoped Virgil wouldn't blame himself. Sure, it had been Virgil's idea to get the cookie, but Logan had agreed, and he was the eldest. It wasn't Virgil's fault. If it was anyone's fault (besides the human's, whose fault it _definitely_ would be), it was Logan's.

It turned out the human was going to his room. He closed the door behind him and sat down on his bed, lifting Logan up to his face. Logan gulped. He couldn't help squirming again.

"I won't hurt you," the human said. Logan thought a bad word at him. As if he'd believe such a lie. The human had _already_ hurt him. "I'll let you go," the human continued. _More lies_. "Just… not yet." That Logan could believe. He wouldn't be released _yet_. But _yet_ would just be stretched on further and further… until the human tired of him and crushed him.

Logan knew that it was pointless to struggle, but he did anyway. Just as he expected, the human's hand held firm. Logan would have needed the strength of ten borrowers, at least, to budge even one finger. Then they all loosened, suddenly. Logan held no illusions about what had happened. He had more space only because the human had given it to him, and not because of any of his efforts. Even so, he couldn't stop himself from continuing to struggle.

"I'll… I can hold you in an open hand instead," the human said suddenly, startling Logan so much that he was still. He looked up at the human, waiting. The human seemed to be waiting too. Did he want Logan to confirm that he wanted that? Logan nodded at him. That seemed to be what the human was waiting for, because he continued talking. "Only, I don't… you have to promise not to jump off again."

Logan scowled at the thought. Promise not to try to escape his captor? Fat chance! Suddenly, he felt the human's grip tighten around him again. "I'm sorry, I know you don't want to stay," the human taunted. "But I promise, I _will_ let you go." _Lies_. "Today, even." _Further lies!_ "Just, please, don't run off on me yet?"

Even if he had wanted to answer aloud, Logan couldn't. He might not need breath to survive, but he needed it to speak. Suddenly, the human's tight grip around him loosened again, though Logan was still held in a fist. He pushed at the human's fingers in a panic, knowing he couldn't make them move, but also knowing that he couldn't stop himself from trying.

"Please?" the human said.

Logan looked up at him, hating the man. But he was smart enough to know that the human literally held his life in his gigantic hands, and he realized that he had to do whatever he could to appease him. He swallowed his pride and nodded. A promise not to run away wasn't so big a price if it meant the human would stop crushing him. Especially since Logan couldn't reasonably be expected to keep such a promise, made under duress and likely to cost him his life if he saw an opportunity to break it and chose not to. It would hardly be a mark against his honor, and even if it was, honor was no use if you were dead.

The human actually let Logan out of his fist. He was set onto an open hand, of course, so it wasn't much of an improvement, but at least he wasn't being crushed.

"Better?" the human asked.

Logan nodded, trying a breath. His ribs immediately felt like they were made of fire, and Logan winced, putting a hand against his side. No breathing, then. Once again, Logan was grateful that he didn't have to. His power had never seemed so useful. Logan internally apologized for calling it pointless before.

Suddenly, the surface under him surged upward, and Logan's vision was filled with a giant face, way too close. He flailed, trying to back away, and only fell over.

"Sorry," the human said, his voice ringing in Logan's ears. "I… I didn't mean to…" He trailed off, and Logan wondered bitterly _what_ the human hadn't meant to do. Knock him over, maybe. "I hurt you," the human said then. Logan couldn't make out his tone through the pain, but he imagined that the human was gloating. "Didn't I?"

Logan didn't dignify that with a response. He curled around himself on his side, trying to soothe the terrible pain.

"How… how bad is it?" the human asked. Logan could only groan. Then the human added, "Let me see."

Logan wouldn't let him gloat over the damage he'd caused. He curled tighter, trying to protect his vulnerable parts. Then a huge finger nudged him from the side, rolling him effortlessly onto his back. Logan's limbs flailed, and his eyes snapped open, staring up at the human in a panic.

"Let me see," the human demanded, and Logan felt his blood run cold. If he didn't do what the human said now, he feared, his life expectancy could be counted in seconds. Although it was the last thing he wanted to do, Logan uncurled, exposing himself. The human reached for him with his other hand. Logan managed to force himself to stay spread out, but he turned his head away, not wanting to see what new torture was planned. To his surprise, the human didn't touch him. But he issued a command. "I need you to lift your shirt."

Logan didn't want to find out what would happen if he disobeyed. He pulled up the edge of his shirt, exposing himself even more. He heard the human hiss above him, and wondered what the sound could mean.

"I'm so sorry," the human said. Logan couldn't believe him. He peeked out from under his shirt. The human was frowning, and Logan shuddered. "Hey," the human said, terrifyingly commanding. "Breathe."

Logan didn't dare disobey. He took a breath. It hurt worse than before, and he couldn't stop himself from crying out.

"I'm sorry," the human said again, as though Logan would believe him this time. "I'm sure breathing hurts, but you gotta keep doing it."

It was torture. But the human would surely find a worse way to torture him if Logan refused. He took another breath, shaking at the agony it caused. And another, and another.

Suddenly, the human stood. "You can put your shirt back, for now," he said. For once, Logan was relieved to obey, covering himself up again. With Logan still lying in his palm, the human moved. Their surroundings passed in a blur, and Logan didn't know where he was until the human set him on his feet on something smooth and white. Logan looked around, finally recognizing the room. They were in the bathroom, and he was standing on the counter next to the sink. "Please don't run," the human said, a clear order despite the "please."

Logan knew that he had no chance of escaping if he did try to run, and he didn't want the human to think he was making an escape attempt and punish him for it. He sat down on the counter, trying to make it clear that he wasn't going to run.

The human opened the mirrored cabinet over Logan's head, looking for something. When he drew his hand out again, he had a silvery tube in it, which he opened. Then the human looked back at him. "I'm… going to have to ask you to take your shirt off," the human said. Logan looked pleadingly up at him, but he knew better than to refuse. He took his shirt off, shivering. Why did the human want him to undress? To show off his injuries, or to humiliate him further? Perhaps both. At least he was permitted to keep his pants on. So far, anyway.

Logan glanced up at the human, only to find him frowning again. "I know it hurts to breathe," the human said, and Logan winced. He hadn't realized he'd stopped again, but the human had noticed. "And I'm sorry I have to ask you to do something that hurts." _Lies. That's_ why _you're making me do it._ "But you gotta keep breathing, buddy."

The human was really insistent on this point. Logan took another shuddering breath. It hurt, so so much, but he forced himself to keep going anyway. The human's finger lowered into view in front of him. There was some sort of clear goop on it.

"Here," the human said. "It's arnica gel." Logan had no idea what that meant, and the human continued. "It'll help your bruises heal faster. Take some."

Logan considered the gel. Perhaps the human was lying and it would hurt him, or he was telling the truth but going to yank the gel away when Logan reached for it, to taunt him. If, on the other hand, he was telling the truth and wanted Logan to heal up, then surely it was so that he would be well enough to punish more later. Logan hated all of those possibilities. Still, he couldn't disobey. He took as much of the gel as he could in one hand. He looked up at the human again. The gel didn't look good, but he had to do what he was told. Logan gulped, and then lifted the gel to his lips. Before he had tasted it, though, the human bellowed,

"No!"

Logan cowered. He was in for it now. He'd angered the human, though he wasn't sure how, and he was going to pay the price. Logan hunkered down, covering his head and neck as though it would do anything to stop the human from destroying him. Above him, he heard the human let out an irritated breath.

"You don't _eat_ it," the human scolded him, as though Logan ought to have known that. "It's poisonous." _Enough to kill?_ Logan wondered, _or just to hurt a_ lot? "You rub it on the bruises." Logan waited anxiously for his punishment, but it didn't come.

Slowly, Logan uncurled from his protective position. He wasn't sure what had happened to the gel he'd taken earlier, but his hand was empty. The human offered him his fingerful again, and Logan scooped up some more. With a gulp, he touched it to his bruise, flinching in anticipation.

"I'm sorry, it's cold, I know," the human said. Logan hadn't even noticed. "But it _will_ help." Logan didn't know if that was true, but he did know that he didn't dare find out what would happen if he refused to use it. He started to spread it along the first angry bruise forming where the human had squeezed him. The human leaned over him, and Logan had to force himself to keep going, even when he felt warm breath hit his back. "Look," the human said. "I know I'm the last person you want help from right now." For once, a truth. Logan glanced up at him for a moment before returning to the task he'd been given. At least it helped keep his mind off his fate, if only a little. The human kept talking. "But I'm not sure you'll be able to reach the bruises on your back. So I'll put the gel on them."

Logan thought for a moment that his heart stopped beating, and he realized that he'd stopped breathing again, probably when the human had yelled at him, because if he still had been breathing, he would have stopped just then. He hoped the human wouldn't notice.

"I'll be gentle," the human said. Logan didn't believe him for a second. Then the human leaned over him again. Logan tried not to flinch away as one huge finger pressed into his back, but he couldn't help it. Luckily, the human didn't seem to notice, just rubbed the gel around on Logan's bare back. Logan forced himself to continue applying it to his front with shaking hands.

After what felt like an eternity, the human pulled away, crouching in front of Logan instead. "I'm done," he said. "How are you coming along?"

Logan pulled his hand away so that the human could see. He'd obediently spread the arnica gel over all his bruises, and now, just running out of gel, he covered the last one. But the human wasn't satisfied.

"You have to rub it in, so your skin can absorb it," he said.

Logan looked up at him, feeling tears prick in the corners of his eyes. Of course there had to be more to it, something that he'd missed. He sighed (which hurt) and nodded to acknowledge that he'd heard the order. Going back to the first bruise, Logan rubbed the gel into his skin, which did in fact absorb it. Instead of being slimy, he was now slightly sticky.

The human watched him the entire time. When Logan had finished, the human looked at him for several moments longer, and then said, "Good job." Logan's shoulders slumped in relief. He had passed. "You can put your shirt back on now." It was a small reward for the agony he'd gone through, but Logan was grateful even for small indications of favor by this point.

The human put the gel back away, and then lowered his hand, palm up, next to Logan, who stared at it in horror. "I won't even grab you this time," the human said, as though that was a big favor. Logan supposed that it was, in this context. He didn't want the human to change his mind, so he steeled himself and climbed into his hand, sitting stiffly in the center of the human's palm. It was the worst thing he'd ever had to do.

The seconds stretched out with the human's hand still resting on the counter. Logan wondered what he was waiting for. Then the human spoke.

"Breathe."

Logan flinched, worrying. The human had caught him not breathing several times now. What if he decided to punish him? Logan's mind whirled with possibilities. He could be crushed, or dropped onto the hard tile floor. Or perhaps the human would take advantage of their current location and flush him down the toilet. At least he wouldn't drown, Logan thought darkly. He took a deep, showy breath to appease the human. It was agony.

"It can be little breaths," the human said, and Logan gratefully took a smaller breath that only hurt a little. "I just don't want you to pass out on me."

 _Right_ , Logan thought bitterly. _Wouldn't want your new toy to lose consciousness on you. It's no fun to torture it if it can't respond_.

Then they were on the move again. Just like before, it was all a blur around Logan as the human carted him away. Logan noticed absently that his bruises _were_ aching a bit less. It seemed that arnica stuff really did what  the human said it did. That was a bit of a relief, though Logan winced to realize that he was probably being healed up to be tormented more later.

When the human finally stopped, Logan looked around. They were back in his captor's room, and the human sat down on his bed, lowering Logan to the mattress beside him. Logan gulped. It was the most intimidating angle he'd seen the man from yet. It could probably only be surpassed by the sight of him from the floor, which Logan desperately hoped he would not see.

"You can get off," the human said, and Logan realized that he had been just sitting on his hand on the mattress, lost in his thoughts. It hadn't _seemed_ like very long, but he might've lost track of time. He scrambled off onto the blanket-covered bed as quickly as he could. Logan took as many steps away as he dared before sitting down.

The human reached over his head, and Logan ducked, even though the huge hand's trajectory was clearly toward the even huger pillows at the end of the bed. It returned clutching a cookie. The very same cookie, if Logan was right, that he and Virgil had failed to borrow. The human was probably going to taunt him with it.

To Logan's surprise, the human broke the cookie in two, placing the slightly smaller half in front of him. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to. But you may," the human said. Logan hesitated. What did the human want him to do? It was unclear. Logan decided to eat at least a little bit of the cookie. Despite his assurance to the contrary, Logan felt sure that the human would be upset if Logan ignored the food before him. Besides, he was hungry.

Logan broke off a more manageable chunk of cookie, though it was still bigger than his fist, and started to eat it, cautiously watching the human. His captor, meanwhile, bit off over a third of the piece he held at once. Logan looked away.

For some time, there was no sound but their munching. Logan's was much quieter, of course, and he wondered briefly if the human could even hear it. Suddenly, the human spoke, startling him.

"My name's Roman." Logan knew that already, and honestly, he didn't care. "What's your name?"

He had no choice but to answer. "Logan," he said, but his voice was weak.

The human leaned down toward him, and Logan flinched. "Sorry, didn't quite catch that," the human said. "Could you say it again?"

"Logan!" Logan said, as loud as he could.

"Nice to meet you, Logan," the human said. _I bet it was_ , Logan thought darkly, frowning down into the bit of cookie he held. The human had gotten a new plaything, of course he was pleased to meet — and capture — Logan. The human continued. "Er. I mean. I know it wasn't nice to meet me." _Astute_ , Logan thought sarcastically. "I'm sorry." _Lies._

"Look, Logan," the human said, and Logan cringed, waiting for a scolding or a punishment. But instead, the human was interrupted by a loud banging sound. "That's my housemate. I'll… I'll be right back," he said, and Logan felt a chill run down his spine. In a moment, there would be _two_ humans poking at him. The ground moved under him as the human got up. "Um," he said. "Sorry. Again."

Logan hardly had time to wonder what the human was pretending to apologize for this time before he was hedged in by a huge white wall. _A pillow_ , he realized, which was now an impassable barrier.

The banging came again, and Logan curled up in his new prison as the human strode away, dreading what would happen next.


	4. Confrontation

Jamie knocked on Roman's door. There was no response, but ey knew he was in there. Of the recent footprints Roman had left (though his threshold was covered with red prints, the older ones were faded and ey could easily pick out the newer ones), there were two sets leading in, and only one set leading out. Jamie knocked again. 

After a few moments more, Roman opened the door. He looked tired. "Hi Jamie. What's up?"

"Hi Roman," Jamie replied. "May I see your hands for a moment?" Although ey were fairly sure that Roman had captured Cerulean, they wanted to be completely certain of it before confronting him about it.

"Sure?" Roman said, very confused. He held out his hands, palm up. It only took a glance to confirm Jamie's suspicions. Roman's red hands were absolutely _covered_ with the borrower's dark blue.

Jamie sighed. "Is the borrower alright?" ey asked. 

Roman blinked at em. "Sorry, what?"

"The borrower," Jamie repeated. "That you captured in the kitchen. Are they alright?"

Roman didn't answer the question, just staring at em for several seconds. Finally, he asked, "How did you _know_? You don't have hidden cameras at up or anything, do you?"

"No, of course not," Jamie said. "I'm merely the best detective in the city, that's all. I found evidence of a borrowing run being interrupted, and of one borrower not making it back to the walls, and _you've_ obviously been handling them, so once again, are they okay?"

"Um," Roman said guiltily. 

"You haven't hurt them, have you?" Jamie asked, suddenly concerned. Ey hadn't _thought_ Roman the type to hurt a borrower, but ey hadn't expected him to grab one off the counter either. 

Roman looked like he'd like to vanish. Jamie gave him a stern look. 

"I didn't mean to!" Which meant that he _had_ done it. Roman continued on, sounding very distressed. "He's so small and fragile and I didn't even realize how tight I was holding him until it was too late and Jamie, he's _terrified_ of me!"

Jamie winced. Roman could be a bit rough even for a human, and ey didn't really want to imagine interacting with him as a borrower. "Does he need medical attention?" ey asked.

Roman shook his head. "I didn't… I don't think I broke any bones," he said softly. "And I already gave him some arnica for the bruises. But he keeps refusing to breathe cause it hurts his ribs, and I'm worried he'll pass out." Suddenly, Roman's eyes widened. He turned, calling into the room, "Logan, take a breath!"

Looking back at Jamie, Roman pleaded, "Can you try talking to him? _You_ haven't hurt him. He might not be afraid of you. Well. As afraid."

"I'll try," Jamie said. Roman immediately looked relieved, and he stepped aside to let Jamie into the room.

"He's on my bed," Roman said as Jamie passed him. Jamie noted absently that the only other green footsteps in the room were from when they'd looked the house over before starting to rent it together. Roman moved a pillow from the bed, revealing the borrower.

He barely looked his own dark blue. Cerulean — wait, no, Roman had called him Logan — _Logan_ was almost completely covered in Roman's distinctive red. He'd been thoroughly handled, and Jamie winced in sympathy. The poor borrower was trembling hard, staring up at Jamie in fear.

"Logan, this is Jamie," Roman introduced. _Probably_ _unnecessary_ , Jamie noted, as the borrowers doubtless already knew both their names, but ey said nothing. "Ey's nicer than me, don't worry. Jamie, this is Logan."

Logan lifted a shaking hand in a wave. Jamie echoed the gesture. "Hi, Logan," ey said gently, looking him over. At a second look, Jamie saw that under the red, Logan had light blue marks across most of his front and wrapping around his torso just under his arms. It looked like Periwinkle had hugged him goodbye before Logan and Violet had set off on their borrowing trip. He didn't have many purple markings, not recent ones anyway, just one covering most of his right palm.

There wasn't much blue on Roman's blanket, so Logan couldn't have moved around much on it. (There _were_ a lot of red marks. Roman had sat on his bed recently, in at least two positions, and had a habit of doing so often.) A cookie lay near the borrower, and at first glance Jamie only saw red covering it. At a second look, however, ey saw blue and purple handprints on the edges.

Jamie turned to give Roman a disapproving look. "You took their cookie away too?" 

Roman squirmed. "...yes," he said in a small voice.

"I baked those to share with _everyone_ who lives here, you know," Jamie scolded lightly. Ey sighed, turning back to Logan. The borrower had pulled his knees up to his chest and was hugging them to himself. When Jamie's gaze landed on him, he flinched a little, ducking his head.

After a moment's silence, Logan asked, "You… you knew I was here?"

"Yeah," Jamie said apologetically.

"You never even said a _word_ ," Roman whispered behind em, and Jamie twisted to look at him again.

"Borrowers," ey said pointedly, "are supposed to be a _secret_. I'm good at keeping that kind of secret."

Roman pouted a bit, but he didn't argue.

"How long?" Logan asked, a desperate pitch to his voice. "Did you… did you _See_ o-" He cut himself off for a second, but then finished, "Did you See me?"

Jamie shook eir head. "No, I didn't, honest. Today's the first time. But, um. I can…" This was, perhaps, the most awkward way ey'd ever had to explain eir power. "I'm a super, and I… my power lets me see who's been in a room, among other things," ey explained. Logan's eyes widened in fright. "I knew before we moved in," Jamie finished. "I wasn't gonna do anything with the information, beyond leaving some food and stuff out more accessibly, and I certainly never thought I'd ever actually _meet_ you."

Logan was shaking again, holding his legs closer. Jamie wished ey knew what to say to calm him, but ey knew that being stuck in the same room as two humans was probably the biggest contributor to his stress.

They really shouldn't be keeping him there.

"Logan," Jamie said softly, and the borrower's head snapped up. "If I help you to one of your entrances, can you get home on your own?"

Logan stared at em as though Jamie had offered to pull a star from the heavens and give it to him. Jamie looked back patiently. Behind him, he heard Roman make a disappointed sound, but the actor didn't seem to disagree with Jamie's decision, just sad that Logan would be leaving so soon. 

Finally, Logan nodded. "I… I can walk," he stammered.

Jamie smiled. "Good. Which entrance do you want a lift to?"

Logan hesitated, looking past Jamie at Roman. Jamie realized that he probably didn't want his original captor to know any more borrower secrets than he already did.

"Right," Jamie said softly. "I know you and Roman got off on the wrong foot—"

"Understatement," Roman muttered.

"—but he's not that bad a guy." Logan didn't look convinced. Jamie wasn't surprised. "Even so, I won't make you divulge your secrets." Ey put eir hand on the blanket next to Logan, feeling guilty at the way he flinched. "May I give you a lift?"

Hesitantly, Logan uncurled from his protective position and crawled onto Jamie's palm. He sat stiffly in the center as Jamie lifted him up.

As Jamie turned to move from the bed to the door, Roman stepped in front of em. Logan quailed in eir hand, and Roman grimaced.

"Sorry, Logan," he said thickly. "Not just for spooking you just now… for everything. I shouldn't have grabbed you, shouldn't have held you so tight… I messed up, and I'm sorry. I won't do it again." 

Logan didn't answer.

Roman sighed, looking disappointed but not surprised. He moved out of Jamie's way and said nothing more as ey carried the borrower out of his room.

"Upstairs or downstairs?" Jamie asked gently.

"Down." Logan's voice was still frightened, but hopeful at the same time.

Jamie nodded kindly, taking him down the stairs. Then he paused again, waiting for further instructions. 

"In- in the living room," Logan said. Jamie took him there. Logan looked up at em calculatingly. "I suppose you already know where the door is, huh?" he said after a moment.

"Not precisely," Jamie said. "I wasn't looking for it, after all. I could probably figure it out, though, if I tried."

Logan looked disturbed by the suggestion. "I'd rather you didn't," he said softly.

"Okay." Jamie was fine with that. "Where do you want me to let you off?"

Logan hesitated, and Jamie realized that he'd be giving away the location of the door anyway, or else giving himself more of a trek. Finally, he sighed and said, "I need to go behind the couch."

Jamie immediately went to it and lowered eir hand down just behind it. Logan wasted no time in getting off. He walked quickly further behind the couch, but turned after a few paces. 

"Jamie… thanks."

"You're welcome," Jamie replied with a relieved smile. "And, Logan? Since you didn't get that cookie… want me to wrap one up in plastic wrap and drop it behind the stove for you?"

Logan laughed for the first time. "Yes," he said. "Thank you."

Then he turned and left. Jamie didn't watch him go.


	5. Guilt Makes you do Foolish Things

Virgil ran. He ran as fast as he could, even when he was back inside the walls where the human couldn't possibly reach him. He ran without pause until he reached the door to their home, and then he burst through that at full speed.

Patton was there, and he turned as Virgil crashed into the room. "Virge?"

Virgil grabbed him, hugging Patton tightly. For the first time since the human had seen them, he stopped and stood still, holding Patton as though he was afraid his twin would vanish if he let go. 

"V, what's wrong?" Patton asked gently. He looked over Virgil's shoulder. "Where's Logan? Leave him in the dust again?"

All the emotions that Virgil had tried to outrun caught up to him. His throat felt thick and he couldn't speak. All he could do was shake his head.

"Virgil," Patton said gently, putting his hands on his brother's head and combing through his hair with his fingers. "Did Logan scold you again?" he guessed.

Virgil shook his head again. "N-no," he managed. 

"Well, what happened?" Patton coaxed.

"L- Logan got-" Virgil gulped, trying to keep from crying. "Logan got _caught_."

Patton stilled in his arms. Then he was hugging back, squeezing Virgil tightly. The pressure helped Virgil to relax, and he reminded himself to breathe.

The two brothers stayed like that for a long time, just holding on to each other. Neither noticed exactly when the tears started, but both cried, and neither judged the other for it. In the end, Patton was the first to loosen his grip. Virgil reluctantly did likewise. Patton didn't let go, though. Holding onto Virgil's arm, he pulled him over so they could sit together on their shared bed.

"Tell me," Patton said gently, holding both of Virgil's hands.

Voice trembling, Virgil began. "We… we were out borrowing. And, we got—" Suddenly, he broke off. "Our borrowing bags! I left them, behind the stove!"

"We can get them later," Patton soothed. "I'll go with you."

Virgil sniffled, nodding. "Okay. A-after we finished the usual run, I said, 'Hey, Logan, why don't we get one of those— those cookies.'" Virgil had been staring at their clasped hands, but now he raised his gaze to Patton's face. A smile attempted to cross his own, but only managed a twitch in the corner of his mouth. "I wanted to surprise you. They were your favorite."

Patton gave him a sad smile. "Thank you," he said softly.

"W-well, it was a bad idea," Virgil said, looking away again. "We got to the cookies, and started coming back, except—" His voice broke off again, and he sobbed into Patton's shoulder. Patton let go of one hand so he could run his fingers comfortingly through Virgil's hair again.

"A human came in?" he guessed, though it hardly took any guesswork. 

Virgil nodded, still sobbing. Patton didn't rush him, only took fistfuls of Virgil's hair, tugging gently on it, doing his best to soothe him.

After some time, Virgil was able to continue the tale, though he didn't lift his head from Patton's shoulder. "I-it was the bigger one," he said. "Roman. He came in, and he— he— Logan told me to run, Patton. He said run, and I just ran, and I _left_ him!"

Patton scritched at the back of Virgil's head. Ordinarily, this would have him nearly puddling on Patton's lap, but right now it was just barely keeping him from breaking down entirely. 

"Logan would have wanted you to get yourself away," he consoled. "You're the only one of us who can outrun a human, and I'm sure Logan is glad you escaped."

"But I _left him behind!_ " Virgil wailed. " _I_ got away, but _Logan_ didn't, and now—" He grabbed onto Patton in a hug again, a bit awkward due to the fact that they were both sitting down, but no less a hug for it. Patton hugged him back, holding Virgil as tightly as he could. "I should have tried to help him get away," Virgil said after a few moments more. "I should have… grabbed his hand, or picked him up, or _something_."

"You're not as fast with a load," Patton reminded him gently. "You would have _both_ been caught. And you know how awful Logan would feel if you got caught trying to help him escape."

Virgil knew that Patton was right, but he didn't like it. He nodded sullenly.

After a few more moments, Patton tipped them both over onto the bed. Virgil curled into Patton's arms, pressing his head into Patton's shirt. Patton ran his fingers through Virgil's hair, humming soothingly to him.

Though both their chests ached with the loss of their brother, the two borrowers managed to fall asleep together in a tangle of limbs, each comforting the other with his presence.

~~~

Virgil woke first, and he knew what he had to do. He slipped out from Patton's arms, covering his brother up with the blanket.

He didn't need much. Shoes. Climbing rope. That was it. No borrowing bag, no other equipment. 

As Virgil hung the coiled rope on his belt, Patton stirred. "Wha… whatcha doin?" he asked sleepily. 

"I'm going… I'm going to rescue Logan," Virgil said, speaking around the lump in his throat. "You need him more than you need me."

Patton was sitting in an instant as though he was the one with super speed, all sleepiness gone from his face. "Virgil, no!" he cried.

"I have to," Virgil said, turning away. "It's my fault he's caught. I have to." He bit his lip, looking back at Patton. "I love you."

Then he ran away from the conversation, blinking the tears from his eyes and trying, unsuccessfully, to tell himself that they were just from the wind in his face from the speed at which he was running. Patton didn't follow. He couldn't. Virgil could keep pace with a human; outrunning a borrower was easy.

The most likely place for the human to have taken Logan, Virgil thought, was back to his room. There, Roman would have the privacy to do whatever he wanted to him.

Virgil had only been in Roman's room a few times since these humans had moved in, but he knew the way just fine. In just a few minutes, Virgil was standing at the door. Not the humans' door, that was too dangerous. No, the borrower door, hidden in a corner of Roman's closet. Virgil listened. He couldn't hear anything. 

Steeling himself, Virgil pushed the door open and stepped into the open space. It was dark in the closet, as Roman kept the sliding door closed. Virgil made his way to the front and peeked out through the small gap between door and frame. From this angle, he couldn't see the human. He listened again, and this time could hear the slow, even breaths of a human at rest. Virgil's heart lifted. Maybe Roman was asleep, and he'd just have to find Logan and free him from whatever prison the human had him in.

Virgil pushed the door open just enough to squeeze through, and on the other side took stock of the situation. The human was on his bed. Not asleep, like Virgil had hoped, but looking at something on his phone. It seemed to have his full attention, thankfully. Virgil scanned the room. He didn't see anything that cried "borrower imprisoned here!" such as a cage or a box, but Roman did possess a few pieces of furniture with drawers. Perhaps Logan was in one of those.

Virgil edged along the wall towards the nearest one, the dresser. Before he'd made it halfway, however—

"Hey."

Virgil nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd been spotted! He whirled around, eyes wide, to look back at the human. Sure enough, Roman was gazing _straight at him_. Luckily, he hadn't moved from his spot, and Virgil glanced back the way he came. If Roman stood up, could Virgil beat him to the closet? Perhaps.

"What… what, um, are you doing here?" Now the human just sounded confused. 

Virgil took a breath, reminding himself of his mission, and the last resort he'd decided to take if he couldn't rescue Logan alone. "I'm here to offer a trade!" he said, as loud as he could. Virgil had never shouted before, and he didn't like it. But he had to make sure the human could hear him, and he didn't want to get closer.

"What… _kind_ of trade?" The human didn't look any less bewildered than before.

Virgil gulped. "Me," he said. The human didn't look like he'd heard, and Virgil realized he'd almost whispered it. He raised his voice and his eyes, glaring at the human to steady his nerves, and nearly yelled, "Me. For my brother. You… you let him go, and you can keep me instead."

Roman winced. "I… I can't," he said. "I don't have him anymore."

Virgil's hopes plummeted. Had the human killed Logan, already? He couldn't move, could only stand there, shaking and staring at Roman in horror.

"What did you do to him!?" Virgil yelled, surprising himself. So his voice was still working even though his legs weren't, that was good to know.

Virgil was sure he imagined the guilty expression on the human's face. "I squeezed him," Roman admitted, and the guilty tone in his voice was more convincing. 

 _Crushed_. Logan had been _crushed_.

"W-where is he?" Virgil pleaded. If Roman felt even a smidgen of the guilt he was portraying, maybe he'd at least let them have the body.

But Roman's next words crushed that hope as easily as his huge hands must have crushed Logan. "Jamie took him. I'm not allowed to know where."

Roman shifted. _Starting to get up_! Virgil realized, and he discovered that his legs were functional after all. Before Roman could sit up, Virgil was halfway back to the closet door. As he squeezed through the opening, he heard Roman call behind him,

"I'm sorry."

Then Virgil was through, and without even a glance over his shoulder, he pelted through the near-total darkness to the borrower door.

Only once he was inside the walls and several feet away did Virgil allow himself to collapse on the floor and dissolve into tears.


	6. Bearer of Bad News

Logan walked in through the door less than two minutes after Virgil ran out it.

"Logan!" Patton cried, bounding to his feet and grabbing his big brother in a hug.

Logan hissed in pain, and Patton quickly let go. "Careful, Pat," Logan said with a wince. "I'm a little tender." 

"What happened?" Patton asked, concerned. He realized now that Logan had been limping a bit as he came in, as well. "Hang on, sit down first. Then tell."

Logan let Patton guide him to a chair. It had once been a squishy rubber toy, but they'd borrowed it years ago, and now, with a soft cloth thrown over the top, it made a comfortable seat.

"You're not breathing," Patton observed. Since he knew Logan didn't need to breathe, he wasn't overly concerned, but Logan still flinched at his words.

"Yeah, it… hurts," he said. "Less now, but I'd rather not."

Patton nodded. "Lemme just take care of your injuries, then, and you can tell me later, okay?" he said. Logan gave him a grateful smile, nodding. "Alright, show me where it hurts," Patton ordered kindly, shifting into 'Doctor Dad' mode, even though he was the youngest. 

Logan took his shirt off, and Patton winced sympathetically at the bruises covering his torso. Luckily, there was no broken skin, though if there had been at least Patton would have been able to do something about it. With bruises, they couldn't do much but wait, and perhaps borrow an ice cube. Patton knelt in front of Logan, gently feeling his ribs. Logan hissed in pain, but let him continue.

Logan's ribs were intact, and Patton breathed a relieved sigh. A broken rib would have taken much longer to heal than even the deepest bruises.

"How much does it hurt?"

Logan held up four fingers, in reference to a pain scale on an old discarded card they'd found years ago. _Constantly thinking about it, but able to do things_ , Patton interpreted.

"But it was," Logan said, and winced as that aggravated his ribs. He held up seven fingers. _In pain all the time, prevents most activities_. "We need to borrow… in the bathroom, arnica."

"That helped with the pain?" Patton guessed, and Logan nodded. "I'll get some."

Logan suddenly looked around. "Where's Virgil?"

Patton hesitated. "He… he didn't rescue you?"

Logan shook his head, confusion and worry both building in his expression. "No, Jamie… Jamie did."

The other human?

"Virgil went out to rescue you," Patton said, worrying too. "He said… he said that I need you more than I need him, which is obviously false, I need _both_ of you, but—"

"A trade," Logan realized aloud. "He was planning a trade."

Patton nodded tearfully. 

"We have to stop him." Logan tried to get up, but Patton put his hand on Logan's shoulder and forced him back into his chair.

"We can't, he's too fast, and you're injured!"

"But he's going to sacrifice himself for nothing!" Logan grit out. "That human _tortured_ me. I won't let him do the same to Virgil!"

"W-well," Patton suggested, hating the idea he was about to suggest, but not knowing what else they could even try. "You said Jamie rescued you, right? A-and made Roman let you go?"

Logan nodded. By his expression, Patton could see that he knew where this was going and didn't like it any more than Patton did.

"Maybe we can ask em for help?"

Logan grimaced at the idea, but he nodded. "I'd do anything to get Virgil out of that human's hands," he said.

"Me too," Patton agreed. "Even… even talk to Jamie." He hesitated, then sighed. "Even if that would mean ey'd know about all _three_ of us."

Logan squirmed in his seat, looking like he had a secret he didn't like. Patton looked inquisitively at him. "Ey… already know," Logan said at last. "S'mthin' bout eir power… ey've known since… always. That we were here."

Patton blinked. "Jamie has a power?"

Logan nodded.

"What _is_ eir power?" If ey'd been using it all this time without their knowledge, it couldn't be as obvious a power as Roman's, which, with his current lack of control over it, could hardly be kept a secret. No, whatever Jamie's power was, it must be discreet. 

Logan frowned. "I don't know," he said. The admission sounded like it hurt, and not just because it meant he had to breathe. He kept talking, interest in the puzzle overriding his pain. "Jamie said ey could tell when we'd been in rooms, and when ey confronted Roman… ey just looked at his hands and said that Roman had 'obviously been handling' me." Logan frowned. "Ey could _tell_. Just by that. _And_ , ey knew, even before, that Roman had interrupted Virgil and me out borrowing."

"Multiple powers?" Patton suggested.

Logan shook his head. "Nobody has more than one power," he said thoughtfully. "It has to be a multipurpose one." Suddenly, he stopped, looking annoyed at himself for getting distracted. "Virgil!" Logan tried to get up again, but Patton stopped him once more. "Patton, we have to rescue Virgil!"

"You're hurt and need to rest," Patton said firmly. "You're staying here. _I'll_ ask Jamie for help." Logan opened his mouth to protest, but Patton frowned at him and continued. "If Jamie already knows about me, it's no additional risk of exposure, is it?"

Logan made a face. Patton could see that his big brother was worried that Jamie, though ey seemed nice, would grab Patton, leaving Logan all alone. To be honest, Patton was concerned about that too. But he had to try.

"Any ideas where to find em?"

Logan glared for a moment, then sighed. "Try the kitchen."

"Alright." Patton leaned forward, kissing his brother on the forehead. "Get some rest, Lo. I'll be back with Virgil soon."

Logan sank into the chair with a weary nod.

Patton ran his fingers through Logan's hair affectionately, and then he was off.

Patton wasn't as fast as Virgil, and he'd never gone out of the walls alone before, but he made his way to the kitchen without too much difficulty. Standing behind the stove, he listened. There was a rustling noise up by the countertop. _Someone_ was here. And it mightn't be Jamie. Patton listened more closely. If only the human would say something! But then, if they did, it would likely mean that both humans were there.

Patton peered upwards. Then suddenly a human's hand came into view in the space between the stove and the wall, way up above. It was holding something. Patton squinted at it, but before he could quite process what it was, the hand let go, and the thing plummeted down toward him. 

Patton yelped, diving out of the way. The thing crashed down mere inches away from him. When it was still, Patton approached it cautiously. It was a cookie. Or rather, several pieces of a cookie, now, held together by a clear plastic wrapping. The cookie, when whole, must have been at least three inches in diameter, and nearly half an inch thick. Patton wondered why the human had dropped it behind the stove. And so intentionally, too.

"I'm sorry," came a human's voice. A second later, Patton recognized it as Jamie's. "Was someone down there? I hope I didn't hit you."

Even though he had come there specifically to talk to Jamie, years of instincts didn't go away just like that. Patton stood, silent and still, staring up at the gap.

There was silence for several seconds. Then Jamie sighed. "Hopefully that's the silence of nobody being there, and not the silence of an unconscious borrower," Patton heard em say. "I'll just go, then."

Patton's eyes widened. No! He _needed_ Jamie to stay! Before he could think too hard about what he was doing, Patton cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted upwards, "WAIT!"

Silence again.

Then Jamie said, "Alright. What is it?"

Good. Now Patton just had to get em to agree to help Virgil. He frowned for a moment, wondering how hard that would be. Then he shrugged. "Oh well," he said to himself. "I got em to wait easily enough. Hopefully ey'll listen too." He started to climb the chain.

When Patton was about halfway up, Jamie spoke again. "Do… is there something you wanted to tell me? Um, not to be rude, but it'd be easier for me to wait if I knew there was a reason."

Patton tried to climb faster. "Just a minute!" he called upward. Hopefully the human wouldn't get impatient and walk off.

Thankfully, when Patton got to the top, Jamie was still there. Ey were leaning against the opposite counter, not looking his way. Patton peeked over the edge of the oven. He wasn't quite comfortable being all the way out in the open with a human right there, even at a respectful distance across the kitchen, and he hoped Jamie wouldn't be offended.

"Hey!" he called to get eir attention. Jamie looked up, and then looked over.

"Hey," ey answered softly. Patton froze up for a second under eir gaze. There was silence for several moments, and Jamie spoke up first. "Logan get home alright?"

Patton nodded. "Y-yes. Thank you. For rescuing him."

Jamie nodded, looking quite sincere. "Of course," ey said. "Least I could do. But that can't be all you're here for. To thank me?"

"N-no." Patton found he didn't at all care for talking to a human, even one who'd rescued his brother. Jamie was just so _big_. "I… please. I have a— a favor. To ask."

"What is it?" At least Jamie seemed willing to hear him out.

"My… my other brother," Patton said. "I, we, we think… Roman's got him. Please? You… you rescued Logan, can you—?"

"Of course!" Jamie said, pushing off from the counter quickly. Patton squeaked and ducked down behind the oven again. He heard a muffled expletive, and then Jamie said, "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. I'll go get Roman to let your brother go."

Patton didn't peek back over the oven, but he had to show his gratitude. "Thank you!" he called.

"You're welcome," Jamie said. "Take care climbing down, and enjoy that cookie, alright?"

"Oh-okay."

Patton clung to the chain as Jamie left the room, listening as their footsteps faded. Then, with a sigh of relief, he slid back down. He had done what he could to rescue Virgil, and now he must go home and do what he could there. Logan might be trying to get up and do things instead of resting, and Patton should be there to stop him.

At the bottom of the chain, Patton realized that there was a great deal that needed to be brought home. In addition to the cookie, there were Logan and Virgil's borrowing bags, left just inside the wall when they had climbed up earlier. Patton certainly couldn't carry it all, not alone and not all at once. 

He decided to take Logan's bag, and leave the rest for later. The cookie really ought to be carried by two borrowers together, and Patton wanted to get home quickly.


	7. Accusations

Roman had almost worked up the will to get off tumblr and put his pajamas on so he could fall asleep, when there came another knock on his door. 

"Come in," he called, not wanting to bother getting up.

The door opened to reveal Jamie on the other side. After a moment, ey came in.

"What's up?" Roman asked, dropping his phone onto his chest. "You get Logan home alright?" He tried not to sound bitter about it, but he didn't think it was working. 

"Yes," Jamie said. "But… Roman, you haven't captured another borrower, have you?"

"What? No!" Roman sat up quickly, offended that Jamie thought he didn't know better by now. He scowled at em. "You wanna check my hands?" he asked, thrusting them toward Jamie. "Look, they're clean. No borrowers."

Jamie actually did look his hands over, and Roman hated that ey didn't trust his word. But that was what he got for being a kidnapper, he supposed.

"Alright, I believe you," Jamie said. "You haven't touched anyone since Logan."

Roman huffed. "You're right I haven't. You needn't sound so surprised."

"Sorry," Jamie said. "It's just… I was told you'd captured someone, and was asked to rescue him."

Roman frowned in confusion. "I didn't," he said. "I've barely even _seen_ another borrower since you and Logan left."

Jamie blinked at him. "But you saw one?"

"Yeah." Roman gestured to the place where the little guy had stood. "He came in, through my closet I think, and tried to trade himself for Logan. I told him you'd taken Logan home, and he ran off."

Jamie turned and looked. Roman had the distinct feeling ey saw more over there than he did. 

"I didn't even touch him!" he said, desperate for Jamie to believe him.

"No, of course not," Jamie said distractedly. "He didn't come anywhere near you, and it looks like you haven't moved from your bed since I was here earlier."

That was… scarily accurate. Roman nodded silently. 

"But then why would Periwinkle say you had him?" Jamie murmured softly.

"There's a borrower named Periwinkle?" Roman asked. Jamie jumped, and Roman realized that ey hadn't meant to speak aloud. 

"No…" Jamie said. "That's just what I've been calling him in my head, since I don't know his name," ey explained reluctantly. 

"Why Periwinkle?" Roman asked, frowning in thought. "That's a flower, right?"

"And a color. It's a really light blue. That's the color footprints he leaves behind, so that's what I've been calling him."

So Jamie's power was the ability to literally see where people had walked. "What's my color?" Roman asked, pure curiosity.

"Red." Jamie had been half distracted during the rest of the conversation, but now ey looked right at him. "A very bright red. It suits you."

Roman grinned at that. "What about the other borrowers? Logan, and the one who came and yelled at me?"

Jamie looked hesitant for a moment. Then ey answered, "Cerulean and Violet. A dark blue, and a dark purple. Your hands are pretty covered in blue, but there's not a smidgen of purple. Or light blue."

Roman nodded. "So… _I_ haven't got Violet," he said, getting back on track, "but the other borrowers don't know where he is either, or they wouldn't have asked you to… to _rescue_ him from me." The word 'rescue' felt sour in his mouth, and he regretted that it was the right word. "So where is he?"

"I don't know," Jamie admitted. Ey went over to the wall where the borrower had stood, following his path. Roman thought about going with, but he figured it might be better to keep his distance from any borrowers worried he'd grab them, so he stayed put. When Jamie reached Roman's closet, ey asked, "Mind if I open this?"

Roman waved a hand. "Go ahead."

Jamie slid the door open. Roman was glad he kept his closet more or less neat as his housemate crouched to get a good look at the floor. Then ey came back out and shut the door again. 

"Looks like he was in a hurry, but he got into the wall," ey said. Roman wondered where the entrance was, but he didn't ask. He didn't want to make himself an even bigger threat.

"Maybe he just hadn't gotten back home yet when Periwinkle set out to ask you for help?" Roman suggested. "If he knew Violet was coming to, um, to trade himself to me for Logan, it would make sense that he'd think I had him."

"I hope that's the case…" Jamie said with a sigh.

"I'm sure he'll find his way home soon enough," Roman said soothingly. "And then… I dunno, they'll probably move out." He sighed. "I'm a danger, obviously. Can't be trusted around borrowers."

"Roman," Jamie started, but Roman cut him off.

"I almost crushed him, Jamie! I didn't mean to hurt him, but I did. I could have _killed_ him, and he knew it sooner than I did. You saw how he was looking at me. Any time I moved toward him, or said anything, or even _looked_ at him, he flinched!" Roman looked down at his hands. "I snapped at him," he admitted thickly. "He almost ate the arnica, and I panicked and yelled at him. The way he reacted…" Roman's vision blurred, and he squeezed his eyes tightly closed, pulling his legs up to hug them to his chest. "I'm sure he thought I was going to kill him. Right then and there."

"Roman," Jamie said again. Roman turned his face away. " _Roman_." When Roman still wouldn't look, Jamie sighed. "Yeah, you messed up. And yeah, Logan's probably terrified of you. But you didn't _mean_ to, that's got to count for something, right?"

Roman grunted. He wasn't sure it did count against such actions. "Lotta good _that_ does him. 'Sure, you almost got crushed to death, but at least it wasn't _malicious_.'" He finally looked up at Jamie again, rolling his eyes to match the sarcasm. "Face it. I'm just not to be trusted around borrowers. It's _fine_."

It was not fine.


End file.
